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The Sunflower movement made history this month. As Taiwan’s government was deviating from the will of its people, unarmed students disrupted the legislature by occupying it for three weeks. An unplanned, flash-mob protest met outside the legislature on March 18. Both the students and the legislature’s Speaker, Wang Jin-pyng, took peaceful action and the situation resolved without violence. Wang promised to require transparency for any future trade agreements and the students promised to leave peacefully. After three weeks, the students kept their promise, leaving only a sign translated “Congress of the People” at the front of the chamber and, on the Speaker’s desk, a widely used academic book from the late 19th century with collection of stories on political corruption.

Now, non-violent protesters who highlight “Constitutional compliance”, “individual liberty”, and “national sovereignty” have proven that they can remain non-violent, if the police do not use force to remove them. · · · →

Taiwan’s government does not have a robust system of checks and balances as the US does. Instead, has the near identical system of making laws as China’s government: new law doesn’t come from Congress or the President, but from the “Premiere”, a non-elected bureaucrat who heads the Executive branch comprised of other non-elected bureaucrats—in Taiwan the Executive Yuan, in China the State Council. The “puppet” nature of Taiwan’s democracy sheds some light on Taiwanese’s overall frustration with their government. It is reflected in the KMT’s recent proud remarks—that excessive power remains in the hands of the Executive branch, unlike Article 1, Section 8 of the US Constitution—read yesterday’s Taipei Times report for the inside baseball.

According to the Taipei Times article, if the Legislature does not approve the law proposed by the executive bureaucrats, then they have the authority to pass the motion into law as if it had been voted on. · · · →

Taiwan legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) announced this morning that he would conduct no further discussions in the legislature concerning trade with China until a new law was passed providing oversight affecting all international trade agreements.

This type of legislation, supporting the DPP (民進黨) and Sunflower movement’s request for transparency, would be a significant change in Taiwan’s legislative process. The Executive branch, led entirely by non-elected appointees spare the President, has historically conducted all trade agreements in secret.

Sunflower student leaders Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) and Chen Wei-ting (陳為廷) followed Wang’s announcement with a joint statement to the press, that, in light of their request for trade transparency being promised by the legislature’s speaker, the students would leave the legislature’s chamber this Thursday.

President Ma and Wang, both members if the ruling members of the KMT (國民黨) party, have a history of conflict. Other KMT legislators quickly denounced Wang as having supposedly “sold them out” in his announcement that the legislature should provide oversight and transparency in trade agreements, particularly with China. · · · →

While I’m sure some of our friends at CIA would be insulted if I said that they weren’t involved in everything that happens in the world, I suspect that Intelligence participation in the Taipei protests are minimal at most. This comes from a basic understanding of exactly how much Ma, Taiwan’s President, has isolated himself and exactly how much support the island has for the student demonstrators.

30,000 people have camped out in Taiwan’s capital square and their friends of friends encompass nearly everyone on the island. The movement is indisputably student-led. Massive support for the students is beyond manipulation.

One bureaucrat at the Executive Yuan complained that occupying students ate his sunflower and pineapple cakes—which really are delicious. In a nose-thumbing response, several bakeries swarmed his home with cases upon cases of sunflower and pineapple cakes. It is doubtful that CIA had to do much convincing in order for Asians to seize the opportunity to insult a government official by “feeding their enemies”. · · · →

Whether it’s true or not, China appears to the International community as an aggressor. For half a century, Beijing supported the Kim Dynasty of North Korea. Now, that decision is “blowing up” in Beijing’s face, so to speak. Countries are asking, “Why would Communist China support a North Korea that would do this if China truly wants peace?” Is Beijing apologetic? Of course not.

In the context of regional issues, and especially the recent earthquake and other environmental problems, the best optics for China would be to demonstrate wise priorities at home, tone down their activity in the South China sea, make concessions to India, and back off in other regions. But they don’t. Why?

Though pride is always a factor, it’s hard to say what motivates Beijing. But the Communists seem to be overreaching and this is possibly from complex psychology wars waged by the US over the last several years. · · · →

North Korea has a long history of making threats whenever they need food. In the past, war-talk resulted in lots of food and supplies being sent to North Korea a short time after. Maybe there were talks somewhere in that process, maybe not. But the West cow-towed to the Norks like Chamberlain tried to appease Hitler before WWII.

From this perspective, it seems that Kim Jong-un is begging for food, like the family dog who tries to convince everyone at the dinner table that he’s on the brink of starvation.

But from another perspective, East Asian cultures—Chinese, Japanese, and Korean alike—are famous for “fist shaking” in the place of actual leadership and management strategy. Someone stands up and shouts really loud, everyone within ear shot jumps in line—again, like the family dog being beat with two sheets of newspaper who thinks, with all the noise, he’s being pounded to death. · · · →